Always in a Rush
by GeminiMercedes
Summary: Between juggling school work, friendships, and a crush on a not-so-subtle baker, Luke's second year of University is shaping up to be a lot more than he initially expected. PLEASE R&R!
1. September

**This story deserves an introduction because I wasn't planning on releasing it. Long story short (no pun intended), I was working on this before the Telltale debacle but struggled to finish it. I was releasing one-shots of Javier/Luke and wanted to a multi-chapter fic even though I knew I was still dealing with a lot on my end. I try to finish multi-chapter fics in advance now because I don't want to go on hiatus and leaving you all hanging. I know it happens to a lot of authors and is rarely, if ever, deliberate but I still didn't want to fall into that again. But the fall of Telltale mixed with my own personal life situations really put a halt to this story, even though I was knee deep in writing it. Even now, I will admit, it is incomplete (though I plan to wrap it up in a few more chapters). At this point, I do feel it deserves to be released, even if the fanbase is slowly dwindling and focussing their efforts elsewhere (which I completely understand). I plan to release a new chapter every second Sunday of the month and hope those that those who still like Javier/Luke will enjoy reading this story. I completed the final chapter of the Walking Dead recently (late, I know) so I will add some of the characters in that game into this story as it goes on. In the meantime, please enjoy this new Walking Dead tale of mine!**

./././

They met the night Luke was out celebrating Nick's birthday. The fall semester at Telltale University had just started and after barely surviving his first year, Luke Vance knew all too well how busy his schedule would be in the coming weeks. That's why he'd been excited to do something for his good friend's birthday before the stressors of school kicked in.

He'd met Nick Cruise during his first year as both of them were in Telltale's English program. Luke was working towards applying for the upper year creative writing program and Nick was considering going into teacher's college after he completed his undergrad. They ended up in a lot of the same courses, however, and became close friends that spent time together even when they didn't have to study.

That night wasn't any different, especially since Nick's birthday served as the perfect excuse to hit the local arcade and spend their limited funds on racing games and pizza. They'd invited Mike Williams, a mutual friend in their program, along for the festivities as well.

"I'll try to go easy on you since it's your birthday," Mike teased as they arrived at the arcade.

"Oh, please," Nick said with a eye roll, "you'll be eating my dust when we play that drag race simulator."

"Do you wanna bet?" Mike asked with a raised eyebrow.

"C'mon, guys," Luke interjected, a smirk starting to form on his face, "we all know I'm gonna beat _both_ of you so why not just hand me your money now?"

The arcade was pretty outdated, but it was one of the only forms of entertainment in the small town of Capricorn. What it lacked in current gaming, it made up for in classics that couldn't be found in most arcades. Nick was a huge fan of the racing games and while Luke knew a couple rounds of Mario Kart back at the dorms would have been just as fun, there was something historic about the arcade that always brought them back. It was as if it hadn't changed since it's inception and Luke always felt like he'd stepped into a time machine when he entered the dilapidated building. Hershel, the owner who manned the front desk on occasion, was really nice and always gave the boys extra tokens when they came to play. He always said it was because they were some of his best costumers and they repaid the gesture by always buying food when they stopped by. The arcade was big enough to have a small fast food shop in the back that served some of the best pizza Luke had ever eaten.

"You boys have fun, now," Hershel said, sending them off with a wave as they headed towards the game room.

"You know we will!" Luke replied, returning the gesture as he followed his friends into the dark room filled with dancing lights.

After a few hours of bets, racing games, and groans from Nick losing, the boys purchased some pizza and sat in the back of the arcade where several sets of chairs and tables sat.

"Happy Birthday, man!" Luke said with a smile as he bit into a slice of Hawaiian.

"Thanks, Luke," Nick replied, taking a swig from a bottle of Pepsi, "one year older, one year bolder, huh?"

"How bold is that?" Luke teased.

"Bold enough to raise your grades or...?" Mike added.

"H-hey, shut up!" Nick growled. Mike and Luke laughed at that.

"Just kidding, Nick! I'm sure you'll get by," Mike said. "You can't do any worse than last year."

"Gee, thanks," Nick replied, shaking his head, "last year _was_ pretty bad though."

"It was like that for everyone," Luke said with a shrug.

Mike nodded in agreement. "First year had all of us down and out."

"It did," Nick agreed, "but I definitely need to step it up this year."

"You will," Luke reassured, "and we're always here if you need us."

"Thanks, guys," Nick said with a smile. Luke and Mike nodded in respond.

Nick took another swig from his bottle and sighed contently.

"Well, enough of this mushy stuff. We should probably start heading back," he continued.

"Oh, shoot," Mike said, his eyes widening in surprise as he checked his watch, "time sure flies when you're not studying or unpacking."

"You can say that again," Luke groaned woefully. "I still haven't sorted all of my clothes out. I'll have to do it this weekend if I have time."

"You better," Nick replied, "your room was a mess last year."

"I don't remember _yours_ being any better," Luke retorted.

"Me neither," Nick agreed with a shrug. Luke glared at him.

"Weren't we supposed to be heading out?" Mike asked, chuckling at their banter.

./././

It was a warm night for early Fall and Luke was glad he'd left his leather jacket at the dorm. He had hoped the burnt orange sweatshirt and dark blue skinny jeans he'd donned would be enough for the early September weather. As he stepped out of the arcade, his gaze was drawn to a crowd of people surrounding a clutter of white tents up the street. Luke raised an eyebrow as he picked up the sound of jazz music playing and the smell of food wafting past him.

"What's going on over there?" Nick asked from behind him.

"That's the fall street market," Mike explained, "my roommate mentioned it. The local businesses bring some of their fall season wares for people to sample before they're officially available. There are companies from the city here too, so there's a lot of variety. It's also a way for them to welcome students during their first week."

"We should check it out," Nick said.

"Do we have time to?" Luke asked, turning to him.

"Do we ever?" Nick argued.

"He has a point," Mike said with a smile.

"Well, it's your birthday," Luke replied, shrugging as they began walking towards the market.

"Exactly," Nick said with a smirk, "my day, my rules,"

"Remind me not to do _anything_ for his birthday next year," Luke said to Mike.

"Don't worry, I will," his friend said with a sigh.

"H-hey, c'mon guys!" Nick groaned.

./././

The market was busier than they'd expected but that didn't discourage Luke from walking around to view the various booths. He realized he must have missed the market last year in his haste to get ready for University, so he was eager to make up for it now.

There were a variety of restaurants and shops featured at the market. Luke had heard about a handful of them but had never bothered to go and experience what they had to offer. Being a student meant being on a limited income that stretched farther on instant noodles and crappy coffee.

Still, it was nice to see their wares and try the tasty samples they were giving out. A pumpkin tart from one of the local bakeries served as the perfect dessert to the dinner he'd just had and he thanked the baker responsible before heading off. Overall, he was enjoying himself.

He'd just finished speaking to the owner of a candy shop when he realized he'd lost sight of Nick and Mike. It was getting late and the wind was cooler than it had been when they'd arrived, so it seemed as good a time as any to start heading back.

He started typing a message to Nick and Mike, asking them to meet him by the arcade when they were ready to go. That would give him enough time to get back there before they headed over.

He was so focussed on typing, he didn't notice the person he was walking in the direction of until it was too late.

"Ah!" he gasped as he bumped into what appeared to be the shoulder of a taller man in front of him. He looked up to see the man trying to keep a plate full of pastries steady as he regained his balance.

His eyes widened as he watched the pastries slide dangerously close to the edge of the large dish the man was carrying. The man bit his lip as he teetered backwards, watching the pastries as hard as Luke was.

"It's o-okay," the man said, noticing the nervous look on Luke's face as he finally got a good grip on the plate.

"I'm _so_ sorry!" Luke exclaimed. "I should have been paying attention, I-"

"Hey, it's okay," the man repeated, turning to him, "no harm, no fowl."

Luke gave him a sheepish smile, feeling his face heat up in embarrassment. The man returned it with a toothy grin that didn't help Luke's growing blush.

"S-still, my bad," Luke stammered, unsure as to why he was suddenly fumbling on his words. He tried to maintain eye contact with the man but it was becoming harder to do so.

The man was handsome, for starters, with a bright smile and warm brown eyes that seemed to hold Luke in place. His hair, a dark auburn in colour, was combed to the side, matching the growing beard that took up the lower half of his face but didn't hide how stunning he really was. He was taller than Luke too, by at least a few inches, and his frame seemed to be fit but lean.

A quick (and discreet) once over brought Luke to the conclusion that the man was part of some sort of bakery. It was pretty obvious when he considered the plate of desserts and the obsidian apron, wrapped around his torso and covered in various spices. The white undershirt he was wearing seemed to have avoided most of the baking ingredients his apron (a fabric shield, as far as he was concerned) had failed to, and Luke couldn't help but find it cute.

"A-are you a baker?" Luke blurted out before he could stop himself. The man chuckled and smiled at him.

"Depends on who's asking, but I'd like to think I know my way around a kitchen."

"I see…" Luke replied with widened eyes. He tried to remember the last time he'd felt so out of place around someone. With his small circle of friends, it couldn't have been anytime recently.

"My bakery is showing off some goods here," the man explained.

"Oh, I must have missed that one," Luke admitted, turning to look around at the various booths again.

"They shoved us in the back," the man replied, sighing and shaking his head, "that's why I'm trying to hand out samples closer to the front."

Suddenly, the man perked up and gestured his plate towards Luke.

"Would you like to try one?" he asked, giving Luke a smile that made the student's heart flutter.

"S-sure."

He looked at the spread on the tray and picked up a pastry that was dipped in a jam of some sort.

Taking a bite of the deep fried dough, he couldn't help but moan as he chewed slowly. It had a caramel filling that complimented the bread's sugary shell and the jam on top (which Luke recognized as raspberry) only sweetened the deal.

"Wow, this is amazing," Luke said with a smile, continuing to bite into the tasty treat.

"You like it, huh?" the man asked, a husk in his voice that Luke hadn't picked up on before.

"I do, thank you so much," Luke replied, ignoring the way his heart was starting to race as he chewed.

"You should stop by our bakery sometime," the man invited, "it's designed like a café and we even have a study lounge for students."

"Really? That sounds great, I'll definitely stop by," Luke replied honestly.

"I'm Javier," the man said, brushing his hand on his apron before extending it to Luke.

"I'm Luke," Luke replied, shaking the man's hand. A vibration passed through him that he tried to brush off by clearing his throat.

"So what brings you here tonight? You're a student, right?" Javier asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"Well, actually…" Luke started, suddenly remembering where he was supposed to be.

"Oh, shoot," he exclaimed, slapping his forehead, "I'm supposed to be meeting up with my friends, we were heading home." He was speaking more to himself than his new acquaintance, but Javier nodded in understanding anyway.

"Well, you better get going then. It was nice meeting you, Luke," he replied. Luke nodded and began to speed walk past him.

"It was nice meeting you, too!" Luke echoed. "Thanks for the sample and sorry again for bumping into you!"

"All is forgiven," Javier said with a wave, "it's not every day a cute guy bumps into me."

A blush immediately spread across Luke's cheeks and he almost tripped on himself as he turned back to look at Javier.

"G-guess it's your lucky night," he replied before he could stop himself. He was so in shock over the man's compliment that his mind seemed to go on auto-pilot trying to compensate.

Javier didn't seem to notice as he laughed in response. "Well, it would _really_ be my lucky night if I got your number."

Luke tried to stop his jaw from dropping as he came to a halt a little ways away from Javier. Of all things the baker could have said, he hadn't expected _that_.

He was about to respond when his phone started vibrating.

"I-I gotta go, but maybe next time?" he replied, offering the man a wave and a sheepish smile as he headed into the crowd. He saw Javier return the gesture before he turned to run towards the arcade.

He didn't know what to make of their conversation, even after he was far from the market. Had Javier indirectly asked him out? Or was he just looking to promote his business and gain some new customers? Luke didn't want to jump to conclusions and get his hopes up.

He tried to shake off his thoughts (and the feelings that came with them) as he returned to the arcade. Nick and Mike were sitting on the front steps waiting for him and he let out a breath he'd been holding as he reached them.

"Sorry about that, guys," he groaned.

"What happened?" Mike asked as he stood up, brushing his pants off as he did.

"N-nothing," Luke murmured, "I just lost track of time, that's all."

"Really?" Nick asked, his tone suggesting he didn't really believe him.

"Yes," Luke frowned, knowing he didn't sound as convincing as he wanted to.

"Can we continue this another time? I have an early class tomorrow," Mike asked, beginning to walk towards the dormitories.

"Me too, actually," Nick groaned, shaking his head as he finally got up from the arcade's front steps.

"As if you'll actually attend," Mike teased.

"Oh, whatever man!"

Luke smiled at his friends as he trailed behind them. He risked a glance back at the market and felt his heart skip another beat. Replaying the conversation he'd had with Javier in his head, he felt another blush spread across his cheeks and shook his head in the hopes that it would dissipate. When they didn't, he returned to following his friends, mulling over his thoughts of the handsome baker as he did.


	2. October

**Anddddd we're back with another chapter of "Always In A Rush"! If you enjoy this one, please make sure you leave a review!**

./././

The weightless feeling Luke had enjoyed the month prior didn't last long.

October had reared it's stressful head and he quickly found himself inundated with assignments, mid-terms, and plans for reading week that he really didn't have time to organize. On top of that, he wasn't eating or sleeping well and his skin had been breaking out because of it. His shoulder length, wavy brown hair had been oily too, but that had more to do with running out of shampoo the week prior and not having the time to purchase another bottle.

That's how he found himself in line at a local coffee shop off campus after pulling an all-nighter for an assignment that was due in a couple of hours. He hadn't found time in September to work on it and almost realized too late how much time was needed to complete it. With a string of classes that day as well, he knew caffeine (and multiple sugar cubes) would be the only thing preventing him from falling asleep during lecture. He doubted any of his professors would be pleased if _that_ happened.

He'd thrown on a semi-clean burgundy sweat suit with some run down sneakers he'd had since forever in his haste to leave his dorm room. His hair was tied up in a high bun that didn't keep all the stray hairs out of his face, but he was too tired to fix it. He looked like he'd just run a marathon, which wouldn't have been a stretch considering all the back and forth he'd been doing between his classes and the libraries.

He yawned while watching the line move forward as another person paid for their order and stepped to the side to wait for it to arrive. There was still a couple of people in front of him and he found himself tapping his foot absentmindedly as he waited. This coffee shop in particular was one of the closer (and cheaper) places to get coffee off of campus. It was too small to really hang out or study at, but it better served those on the go or in a rush.

As another person finished their order and thanked the cashier, Luke began to fish through his bag for his wallet. After a few seconds of blind groping, his eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. He unzipped the bag and rested it on one knee, giving it a more thorough search before holding back a groan.

"Damn…" he muttered, zipping it up before he started patting his pockets frantically.

The only thing his search deduced was that he'd misplaced his wallet and he was too tired to try and figure out where he might have left it. He hoped it was either in his or Nick's dorm rooms and not at a library or in the hands of someone who had no intention of returning it.

As irritated as he was, Luke had to chuckle at that thought. On a _good_ day, his wallet held a handful of change and a credit card. Judging by how much was in his bank account, a thief wouldn't get too far with _either_ one of those things.

The joke was short-lived, however, since he still needed a coffee boost and knew he wouldn't have time to search for his wallet before heading to his next class. He hoped he'd have enough energy to make it through his morning and afternoon classes, though that was starting to seem a lot more daunting without caffeine. Shaking his head, he turned on his heel to leave when he heard someone call his name.

He looked up at the person standing behind him in line to see none other than the baker he'd met about a month ago.

"J-Javier?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. The man smiled down at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fancy meeting you here," he replied.

"H-hey," Luke stammered, looking away as he felt the beginnings of a blush spread across his face. It was hard not to feel self-conscious under the handsome man's gaze, especially when he already felt like a thrown together mess.

"Early morning, huh?" Javier asked. Luke looked up and blinked.

"Uh, y-yeah," he replied before clearing his throat, "I pulled an all-nighter trying to finish this essay."

Javier grimaced. "I'm sure that wasn't fun."

"Not really, no," Luke admitted, shaking his head.

"Isn't it early for you, too?" the student asked. Javier shook his head and scoffed.

"I wish," he replied, "We have to be up pretty early to start baking. My nephew's holding down the fort while I pick up some much needed caffeine."

"That must be pretty hectic," Luke mused.

"You get used to it, for the most part," Javier shrugged, stifling a yawn that Luke unintentionally mirrored.

"See?" Javier said, giving him a tired smile.

"Yeah," Luke chuckled, "I get it."

"Were you about to head out?" Javier asked. Luke's eyes widened and he nodded solemnly as he remembered why he had to leave.

"Oh, yeah," he started, "I left my wallet somewhere so I'm just going to head to class. I won't have time to look for it now."

Javier raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Then it's my treat today," he replied, putting a hand on his hip.

"I can't let you do that," Luke immediately retorted.

"Why not?" Javier asked. "You're running on what? An _hour_ of sleep?"

"Well…" Luke muttered. He wasn't sure he'd even gotten an hour, if he was being honest.

"Don't worry, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the poor professor who will have to deal with a sleeping beauty in his class if I don't," Javier replied with a smirk.

"Still, I can't let you do that," Luke repeated, ignoring the sleeping beauty comment because he really didn't know how to respond to _that_. "Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate it! But I can't let you pay for my screw up."

"Next customer!" the cashier yelled out. Luke turned around to see the line empty in front of him. He'd been so caught up in their conversation that he'd failed to notice the line dispersing as they spoke.

"Looks like we're up," Javier said, walking past him.

"W-wait, Javier! You don't have to…" Luke groaned, trailing off as he followed behind the clearly determined man.

"Hello," the baker greeted. The cashier, a shorter woman with thick and curly hair that billowed around her face, smiled up at them.

"What can I get you two?" she asked, resting a hand on the cash register. Luke looked down at her name tag where the name "Claudia" was printed in bold font.

"If it's not too much trouble," Javier started, "can I get a large coffee, black?" He smiled brightly at Claudia, who giggled in response.

"Does he have to charm everyone he meets?" Luke thought to himself, rolling his eyes while blushing at the same time.

"You find me _charming_?" Javier asked, turning to smirk at him.

"W-what?" he spluttered, realizing he'd been thinking out loud, "n-no way!"

"That's what you just said," Javier replied in a sing-songy tone, turning back to the cashier. Luke, not knowing how to respond to that either, followed suit and noticed the cashier looking at them with a curious expression on her face.

"Will that be all, sir?" She asked Javier.

"Yes, that's all," Luke replied, interrupting whatever Javier had been planning to say.

Javier shook his head. "No, it's not. Sleeping beauty here will be ordering as well."

"W-wait, what?" Luke all but shrieked, almost in disbelief at what he was hearing.

"_Oh_," Claudia said, as if she'd figured something out. She turned to Luke with a bright smile that he wasn't sure was as innocent as she made it out to be.

"What can I get you then, _Aurora_?"

Luke didn't have the energy for this.

"Well, I…"

"_See_?" Javier said, a dazzling smile spread across his face as he turned to Luke. "Someone gets it."

"I'll uh…" his mouth felt dry as he tried to speak. His eyes darted across the menu, trying to find something he recognized as small and cheap. It was hard to recognize anything when he was being distracted by his emotions so early in the morning.

"I'll get a small-"

"Now, _Aurora_," Javier interjected, "we talked about this."

"W-what?" Luke squealed as he looked up at the handsome baker.

"A _small_?" Javier questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm really not…" He couldn't even finish his sentence without crumbling under the man's kind but serious stare.

"Fine," he groaned, turning back to Claudia who looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh.

"I'll have a _large_ half and half, thanks," he growled, looking down at the cash register.

Claudia nodded and inputted their orders.

"That'll be $5.75," she explained, "how will you be paying today?"

"Credit," Javier replied, pulling out a black wallet from his back pocket.

"Thank you," Luke muttered, shaking his head and crossing his arms over his chest.

He could practically hear the man's smile as he replied.

"No problem, _princess_."

"You're unbelievable…" Luke replied.

"Hey, I wish I had a cute boyfriend who bought _me_ coffee," Claudia interjected, handing Javier a receipt.

If Luke had been sleepy before, he was wide awake now.

"W-wait, he's not my boyfriend," he barely spit out under her gaze.

"Are you sure?" Claudia asked, almost looking bored at his attempt to correct her.

"I-I…"

"Anyway," she continued, gesturing to the left of her, "your drinks will come out on the counter over there. Have a good one, guys."

Luke was pretty sure his jaw dropped when she did that, but he clamped it shut as he walked with Javier to the waiting area.

"That was fun," Javier said with a sheepish smile. Luke sent him a half lidded glare as he stood in front of the counter.

"Yeah, _fun_," he replied sarcastically.

"S-sorry about that," Javier said, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck.

Luke sighed, more tired than irritated at this point. "It's okay." Javier paused before continuing.

"I didn't think she'd join in on my joke," he admitted. Luke shrugged.

"Me neither, but since you paid for my drink, I'll try to find it in me to let it go," he said with a smirk.

"Besides," he continued, "I'm so all over the place today, I definitely don't look like a princess."

He smiled self consciously at the baker before looking down at the floor beneath his feet. Part of him couldn't help but feel embarrassed having been seen by Javier on such a bad day. He'd felt a lot more confident the first time they'd bumped into each other in the market.

"Really? Well, you look as pretty as one from where I'm standing."

Luke looked up to see Javier smiling at him with his arms crossed over his chest, almost as if he was daring him to disagree. He blushed furiously as he stared into the man's eyes, looking for a sign that he was joking or poking fun at him. But the baker looked nothing but sincere and content with what he'd just said to him.

"What did you..?"

He didn't have a chance to finish as their drinks were suddenly placed on the counter in front of them.

"Enjoy!" the coffee shop employee who'd made them said as they headed back to prepare something else. Luke turned to stare at the drinks and watched as Javier grabbed his, bringing it up to his lips to take a sip.

"Don't you have a class to get to?" the man asked as he finished his sip. Luke blinked at him before nodding slowly.

"Oh, r-right," he replied, grabbing the lidded cup.

"T-thank you!" he blurted out, following the baker as he began to walk out of the coffee shop.

"Anytime," Javier said, looking down at him and smiling as they fell into step.

"Bye, boys!" Claudia said with a wave as they reached the door. Javier smiled and waved while Luke barely managed to nod as he stepped into the brisk morning air.

"S-see you around?" Luke stammered as he turned to walk in the opposite direction of Javier.

"Hopefully," Javier said with a wink. Luke rolled his eyes.

"You're the worst," he said with a smile as he turned to run to class. He could hear Javier laughing as he jogged away and didn't even try to stop himself from smiling like a fool as he headed towards his campus.

./././

Luckily, he made it to class in record time and was able to throw himself into a seat beside Mike before their professor began her lecture.

"Where were you?" Mike whispered, moving some of his things to make room for Luke to put his laptop down.

"I needed coffee," Luke whispered back as he turned on his computer and opened a notes application.

"That badly?"

"I pulled an all-nighter for an essay due in my next class."

"Yikes, you're already pulling all-nighters?" He didn't need to see Mike's face to know his friend was grimacing.

"Yeah, well I'm hoping this isn't the first of many."

"I hope not because _I_ don't want to have pull any either."

Luke chuckled at that. He was lucky enough to have his next class in the same building as his class with Mike. It was one floor lower, so he wouldn't have to worry about rushing over to make it on time. He explained as much to Mike, who was relieved for him.

"Well, that's one less thing to worry about. I'll walk you there after class, I don't have another lecture until this evening."

"Sounds good, thanks."

"At least you got some coffee now. Is that a large? Sounds about right for the day you're having."

"Yeah, it does. But get this, I can't find my wallet!"

"What?!" Mike asked, forgetting to whisper and unintentionally drawing the attention of the students sitting around them.

"Uh, sorry!" he hissed as they turned back to focus on the lecture. He turned and looked at Luke like he wanted to laugh. Luke chuckled and shook his head.

"Where did you lose it?"

"Hell if I know. I might have left it in Nick's room. I'll text him later but I'm not going to worry about it until I get this essay in."

"I hope you find it, bro."

"Me too, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Hopefully no one found it and took it," Mike mused. Luke snorted.

"They probably wouldn't get too far with it."

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't," Mike agreed. "It's _your_ wallet, after all."

"Go to hell, Mike."

When the professor finished their lecture, Luke and Mike packed away their things and headed to Luke's next class.

"So," Mike started, "if you lost your wallet, how'd you get the coffee? Don't tell me you were able to flirt your way out of paying."

Luke eyes widened and he almost choked on the lukewarm drink he was still sipping on as they walked beside each other.

"W-well…" he tried. Mike's eyes widened.

"Wait, you actually got a free drink out of flirting? With _that_ hair?" he asked in astonishment, looking up at the (even messier) bun slanted atop of Luke's head.

"Hey, what's wrong with my bun?" Luke asked, using his free hand to try and adjust it.

"Hey, if you like it, I love it," Mike said with a shrug.

"It didn't look awful this morning…"

"I'm sure," Mike replied sarcastically, ignoring the glare Luke sent him as he tried to re-position his bun. "What's important is who you charmed a large coffee out of."

"I didn't _charm_ anyone," Luke replied with an eye roll, though the blush spreading across his cheeks betrayed him. He couldn't help it when the conversation he'd had with Javier was starting to replay in his head.

"You sure about that?"

"I…_yes_! I just ran into someone I knew and they paid for my drink."

"Oh, really?" Mike said, his teasing grin quickly falling into a disappointed frown.

"Yes," Luke replied firmly, though he couldn't look Mike in the eye as he spoke.

"Someone from class?"

"Well, no," Luke had to admit. The mischievous smile reappeared on Mike's face before he had the chance to continue.

"_Oh_," Mike said, his tone indicating Luke wasn't out of the woods just yet.

"Have you been getting busy with one of the locals?" he asked. Luke's eyes widened and he almost dropped his cup as he realized what his friend was implying.

"S-shut up, Mike!" he retorted, shoving his friend lightly as he laughed.

"I'm kidding!" Mike said with a smile as he tried to catch his breath.

"Look, I'll see you later, okay?" Luke grumbled, his classroom coming into view.

"Yeah, yeah," Mike replied, "say hi to _whoever_ for me. Does Nick know?"

"There's nothing for him to know," Luke retorted adamantly.

"Whatever you say," Mike said with a shrug, though it was clear he wasn't convinced.

They were standing right in front of Luke's class room at that point so Luke gave Mike a wave (and the finger) as he walked into his class. His friend laughed and returned the gesture before heading off.

Luke pulled his essay from his knapsack and placed it atop the growing pile of papers on his professor's desk before taking his seat.

In his previous class, he'd been too distracted by Mike to think about his run-in with Javier. But he didn't have any friends in this class and with his essay finally submitted, his mind had time to muse over their conversation. Part of him still couldn't believe the baker had not only paid for his coffee, but had complimented him _again_.

He didn't know what to do with that information.

Part of him wanted to believe the man was just being nice. That he was doing it because he felt bad for a student and good karma was always a good thing to accumulate. That was still a possibility, for all intents and purposes, but another part of him was hoping it was more than that.

He wouldn't deny that he found the man attractive and charming, regardless of how much he teased him, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell him that just yet. Plus, they'd only spoken twice. He couldn't really gauge Javier's motives when he really didn't know the man. It was still too early to deduce anything from their conversations and he was way too deep in schoolwork to investigate the matter any further.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled his laptop from his bag and began his routine note taking as the professor started the class. Halfway through the lecture, he glanced at the coffee cup he'd brought with him and smiled before shaking his head.

"_Princess_, huh?" he muttered to himself. "Does that make him the _prince_, then?"

The question made him blush, his imagination running with it before he could stop it. He tried to return his attention to the powerpoint slides the professor was going over.

It wasn't necessarily a question he needed an answer to right away, but he couldn't help but hope one was coming sooner than later.


	3. November (Part 1)

**I'm so sorry for the late update on this story. I wanted to stick to my every-other-Sunday plan and unfortunately, I fell off of it. I want to get back to that and will do my best to stick to it moving forward. It's 2020 (20/20) and I have no intention of not doing everything I put my mind to!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new update! This chapter is split into two parts for length consistency and because I want to keep the following events in "November" before we move on.**

**./././**

Early November found Luke sitting in his only tutorial that semester for a first year class he'd been unable to get into previously. It was a mandatory class to graduate from his program, so he felt it necessary to complete it sooner than later. And while he had a general gist of what the course entailed, he had completely forgotten about the partner project it contained until his teaching assistant had mentioned it the week prior.

The teacher in training had taken the time today to assign partners and explain the project in further detail.

"Remember to start working on these group projects _soon_," they warned as class concluded. "Holidays are right around the corner and you don't want to fall behind."

Luke held back a groan as he packed his supplies. Memories of awful high school group assignments flooded his mind and he couldn't help but grimace as he pictured how this one could go.

At the very least, he vaguely knew who his partner was. Clementine Marsh, a quiet first year student who didn't speak much outside of conversations with a fellow first year named Colette Hawthorne. She rarely said a word during their lectures or tutorials but she seemed to hand in her assignments on time and answer questions when called upon.

She was about the same height as Luke, with curly brown hair pulled back into two ponytails under a baseball cap with the letter "D" sewn on the front of it. Her eyes were a bright hazel and her cheeks were pink and rosy. She usually wore loose fitting sweatshirts or turtlenecks with skinny jeans and oversized boots. With the weather changing, she'd been donning leather and denim jackets that made her look more intimidating than Luke believed she really was.

When he stepped out of their tutorial room, Luke noticed her standing with Colette in the hallway. Deciding that now was as good a time as ever to introduce himself and get the project started, he walked over and waved as he approached.

"Uh, hey," he said as he caught the attention of the young women. They turned and gave him a suspicious look before Colette recognized him.

"Oh, hi," she said cheerfully, "you're Luke, right?"

To Luke, Colette had always seemed like a juxtaposition to Clementine. She actively participated in class, was a member of several clubs already, and seemed to be pretty social on campus for a first year.

She was also a little bit taller than Clementine, with almond brown eyes and a bright smile. Unlike Clementine, Colette's outfits were brightly coloured and trendy. She wore makeup often and was almost never seen without thigh high heels that clung tightly to her legs.

Today, she was dressed in a bright yellow sweater that tucked into a pair of high waisted, faded blue skinny jeans. The converse shoes she was wearing were a similar shade of yellow and brought her outfit together nicely. Her hair was pulled up in two spherical buns that were just as big as the gold hoop earrings hanging from her ears.

When he nodded, she turned to Clementine and smiled.

"I guess this is your partner, Clem."

Clementine nodded and gave Luke the smallest of smiles. Feeling a handshake would be too formal, Luke settled for a small wave.

"Luke Vance, nice to meet you."

"Clementine," Clementine replied, "Clementine Marsh."

"And I'm Colette Hawthorne," Colette added, "Clem and I go _way_ back."

To Luke's surprise, Clementine snorted and turned to smile at Colette.

"Oh, _please_," she replied, "we haven't know each other _that_ long."

Colette placed a hand on her collarbone and gasped dramatically.

"Long _enough_," she retorted, feigning offense.

Clementine shook her head and turned back to Luke.

"We attended the same high school but only became friends in our last year," she explained to a confused Luke.

"That's because Clem doesn't open up to just anyone," Colette added, "I had to chip away to get through to her."

"She's exaggerating," Clementine sighed.

"Am I?" Colette teased, nudging her playfully. Clementine groaned, though she smiled as she did.

"I just wanted to find out when we could start working the group project," Luke explained, returning to the topic at hand.

"Right," Clementine said with an understanding nod.

"Oh, shoot," Colette said, clapping her hands together, "I have to find my partner too. Her name was Sarah or something. I'll be right back." She gave her friend a squeeze on the arm before running back to their tutorial room.

"It was nice meeting you, Luke!" she said over her shoulder, waving as she did. Luke laughed and returned the gesture.

"You too!" he yelled.

He turned back to see Clementine with her notebook out.

"She's fun," he said. Clementine smiled and shook her head.

"She's something…"

"So, how did you want to do this? We have to read two books and then do a comparative essay on them, right?" Luke asked.

Clementine nodded. "Yes, but we need a visual aid to represent the comparisons as well."

"I forgot about that," Luke groaned.

"I don't think it'll be too hard," Clementine replied. Luke crossed his arms and tapped his foot a couple of times.

"Maybe we can brainstorm on our own before we sit down and discuss some ideas," he proposed. "We can read the books in that time as well. Once we fully understand the material, it'll be easier to come up with some concepts."

"That's a good idea," Clementine said, placing a hand on her hip. "How about we meet this weekend? That'll give me enough time to finish the readings."

Luke nodded in agreement. "That sounds fair. I can be ready by then, too."

The two exchanged numbers and agree to contact one another if anything came up.

"Where are we going to meet?" Clementine asked as she put her phone away.

"I'm fine as long as it's not the dorms," Luke said, rolling his eyes, "I'm always distracted over there."

Clementine giggled and nodded. "Okay, no dorms then."

"How about one of the libraries?" Luke offered. "There's a couple, I think?"

"I haven't been here long enough to know for sure," Clementine admitted, shrugging as she spoke.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about that," Luke replied sheepishly. "I do believe there are at least two, for sure," he continued.

"Okay," Clementine replied, "maybe we can meet somewhere on campus and go from there."

"That works for me. We can meet at the student centre if that's easier for you," Luke said.

"Sure," Clementine confirmed with a nod. Luke was about to say something else when Colette came barreling down the hallway.

"Phew, this project is going to be a lot," she said when she reached the two of them, wiping imaginary sweat from her brow.

"How's your partner?" Clementine asked. Colette shrugged.

"She's okay," she replied, "but she's nothing like your cute sophomore partner."

It took a second for Luke to realize she referring to him and he tried to hold back the blush crossing his cheeks.

"H-how did you know I was a sophomore?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he did. Colette smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You have that sophomore _scent_, that's all," she explained nonchalantly.

Luke didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, Clementine butted in before he had to.

"Didn't he mention that during our first tutorial? When we all had to introduce ourselves?" she asked with a raised eyebrow of her own. Colette rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Are you really trying to undermine my keen sense of smell?" she accused, "If you're a little bit nicer, I _might_ teach you how to better yours."

"I'm good with my regular sense of smell, thanks," Clementine retorted.

"Suit yourself," Colette shrugged.

"I, uh, have to get going but it was nice meeting you two," Luke said, confusion written all over his face.

"You as well," Colette said with a bright smile. Clementine nodded in agreement.

"I'll text you later this week," she said.

./././

Luke spent the next few days reading the project material in-between classes and coffee runs. Since meeting Clementine and Colette, he'd felt a lot better about working with a partner and wasn't as worried as he had been. This assurance was solidified when Clementine messaged him about his weekend availability. His schedule was open and he promptly messaged her back before returning to the readings.

The material wasn't anymore complex than what he was already used to, but he could tell it would be a challenge to find points of contrast and comparison between the two texts he'd been given. The texts told two very different stories with only a couple of characters carrying similar archetypes and storylines. That explained why the project was meant to be completed in pairs and why they had to include a visual aid to illustrate the rather abstract points they would most likely have to make.

It was early afternoon the day before he was supposed to meet up with Clementine when he decided to retire to his dorm room to review the material again.

Sighing as he dropped his bag on his bed, he left his room to turn on the kettle in his dorm's shared kitchenette. Grabbing a leftover slice of pizza from the fridge, he returned to his room and plopped down on the beanbag chair his mother had bought him for Christmas before he started eating.

Thoughts from the class he'd attended that morning floated in and out of his mind as he chewed. With only a month left of the current semester, his classes were beginning to wrap up and focus on exam preparation. Luke's grades were pretty good across the board, so the upcoming examinations didn't have him as worried as he had been last year. Still, he had a feeling a couple of late night study sessions were in his not so far future.

Brushing crumbs off on his shirt as he finished eating, he reached for his bag and pulled out some of the textbooks and notes he'd been working on to share with Clementine. He had a pretty good idea of how they could go about comparing the two texts but still wanted her approval before fleshing out any ideas. Grabbing a pen and highlighter from one of his desk drawers, he began making adjustments and additional notes to further elucidate his points. It would be easier for them to write the essay if their initial points were clear and concise.

He'd been working on it for all of ten minutes when he heard someone enter the dorm room. He looked up to see Nick leaning on his bedroom door frame.

"Thought I'd find you here," Nick said with a casual smile. His face was red from the harsh, winter winds and his beard seemed more unruly than usual. He was wearing a dark blue winter jacket lined with a faux fur hood and boot cut jeans that brushed against the grey sneakers he wore regardless of the season.

"Aren't you cold?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow, though he'd known Nick long enough to know the answer already.

"Nah, I can handle it," Nick said, waving him off as he entered his room.

"You really need to clean up in here," he continued with a grimace as he sat on the corner of Luke's bed, close to where his backpack lay.

Luke gave his room a once over and snorted. His room was covered in clothes he needed to wash, pizza boxes he needed to throw out, and school supplies he should have organized months ago. His mother would've had a fit from the sight of it and his father would have probably given him that disappointed stare he had the tendency to make when he wanted to express how he felt.

But he wasn't going to tell Nick that.

"I'm sure yours doesn't look like a luxury suite, either,"

Nick scoffed. "It might, in comparison to this dump." Luke couldn't help but roll his eyes and laugh.

"Yeah, whatever man. What's up?"

"Just wanted to see what you were up to," Nick replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

Something felt off, and Luke couldn't help but feel that wasn't the only reason he'd come to see him in the middle of the day. Nick was just as busy as Luke, if not more so.

Still, Luke decided not to mention that as he put his notes down on the floor beside him in order to give his friend his full attention.

"Nothing much, just working on this group project," he explained.

"Oh, that one for the first year course?"

"That's the one. I wish you would have taken it with me. You know you'll have to eventually, right?"

"I can do it next year, or fourth year if I have to," Nick replied.

"That's true," Luke admitted, "but it gets filled up pretty quickly and it's not the easiest course either. This group project is taking a lot longer than I thought it would. My partner seems nice though, I'm meeting up with her this weekend to work on it."

"Is she cute?" Nick asked with a smirk. Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"She's just my project partner, Nick."

"Doesn't mean she can't be cute."

"Well, she _is_ but…"

"…but?"

Luke could feel irritation pooling in the pit of his stomach. Why was Nick backing _this_ horse? They teased each other all the time but why was he so concerned about what his project partner looked like? For some reason, the question (and implication) bothered him more than he thought it would and he found himself gritting his teeth to hide the frown threatening to spread across his face.

"You must really like her if you don't want to talk about it," Nick mused.

"S-she's not my type, okay?" Luke stammered out, throwing his hands up dramatically.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Nick said with a laugh.

"Whatever, man," Luke replied with a glare.

He hadn't told Nick or Mike which team he played for and honestly hadn't planned on doing so anytime soon. While a part of Luke worried about how they would take it, he wanted to believe his friends would stick around whether or not he was attracted to the same sex. The real reason had more to do with the fact that he'd never had a significant other or some long term relationship to write home about. He'd had little interaction with guys outside of friends in the small town he'd grown up in and that hadn't really changed since he'd come to University. Since he'd been so private about his sexuality in the town he'd grown up in, he'd just adopted the same philosophy at Telltale. It wasn't really anyone's business, anyway.

"Actually, speaking of that…" Nick started, looking down at his feet.

"Yeah?" Luke probed. He was still irritated with what Nick had said, but it was clear his friend needed support.

"I think I might like someone in one of my classes," he admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Luke's eyes widened at his friend's confession. Irritated or not, there was no way he wasn't going to respond to _that_.

"You _what_?"

"I-it's nothing!" Nick spluttered, as if he was totally regretting even mentioning it. "Forget I said anything, okay?" He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the small window in Luke's dorm room.

Luke opened his mouth to say something, but the way Nick's face had twisted into a mix of anger and embarrassment made him think his words over.

This was clearly something serious to Nick, or he wouldn't have brought it up in the first place. And he probably wouldn't have stopped by the dorm to find him, either.

Taking a different approach, Luke took a deep breath and shook his head.

"That's…that's great, man," he started, "what's her name?"

For a few seconds, he thought Nick wasn't going to budge or say anything. Luckily, some of his friend's anger seemed to subside and he watched his shoulders relaxed a bit.

"Jane," he said, "she's in my elective."

"What is she like?" Luke asked slowly.

That seemed to be all it took to get Nick's forgiveness as the boy fell back on the bed, ignoring the scattered clothes around him. He let out a deep sigh and stared at the ceiling with a dreamy expression on his face.

"She's beautiful and really smart, too."

"We help each other out," he continued, "with notes and stuff. I want to take her out sometime, you know?"

"That's nice, Nick," Luke replied, grateful that his friend couldn't see the skeptical expression on his face. "How are you going to do that?"

"I dunno, man. It's not like I'm loaded or anything."

"You don't have to be loaded to have a good time. We somehow manage, remember?"

"Yeah, but she's special."

"Well, there are some nice restaurants on and off campus. Have you thought about taking her to one of those?"

"I have, but I have to let her know how I feel before any of that."

"O-oh, right. That makes sense."

Suddenly, Nick sat up with a determined look on his face and Luke couldn't help but feel nervous again.

"Give me some advice, man. I'm sure you've been in my shoes before. What did _you_ do?"

Luke didn't realize he was inching back in his bean bag chair until his head tapped the wall behind him. He didn't know how to answer his friend's question and he wasn't sure he really wanted to, either.

"Well, I uh…" he tried, his face burning up as he spoke. "I probably don't have much more experience than you, man."

That was honest, at least.

Unfortunately, it didn't convince Nick.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. I'm sure that girls are all over you."

A couple of them had been interested in the past, Luke could admit. The feelings, however, had never been mutual.

"Not really? I-I didn't date much back in my hometown."

"Why not?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head slightly. Luke held back a groan.

"I wasn't really interested, I guess? I had other things to focus on…" he explained, floundering as he tried to make his answer as elusive as possible.

"Oh, I get it," Nick replied, smirking slightly. Luke tried to keep a poker face but was pretty sure his façade was slowly falling apart.

"You do?"

"Yup," Nick nodded, flashing a triumphant smile, "I should have known you were the really picky type."

There was silence for a few seconds before Luke realized what his friend said and he almost failed to hide the sigh of relief he wanted to let out.

"_Oh_, right. Yeah, I can be pretty picky. That's probably it," he blurted out. If his response was faster than usual, Nick didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, I get it," Nick reassured. "We all have our reasons. I won't tell you to lower your standards but I think you should give people more credit. Some of them might surprise you."

Luke nodded slowly, still recovering from the fear he'd had less than a minute ago.

"Y-you're right," he started, "I'll work on that. Thanks, Nick."

"No problem," Nick said cheerfully, getting up from Luke's bed. "Thanks for listening, I feel like Mike would have just laughed in my face."

"He probably would have," Luke admitted, "but he cares about you, too. He would have heard you out."

"You're probably right," Nick replied with a shrug as he walked out of Luke's room.

"Good luck with that class…and your partner," he finished with a wink as he headed out of the dorm.

"Very funny," Luke replied sarcastically, waving his friend off. He waited until he heard the dormitory door open and close before letting out a sigh of relief.

He wouldn't have expected Nick to figure out his secret, but his friend had come a little too close for comfort. He didn't want to have that conversation now, regardless of how he thought Nick would take it. Besides, it wasn't like he was in a serious relationship that he could share with his friends. And what was wrong with being private, even if he _did_ have someone special?

Taking a deep breath, he picked up his notes and returned to his review. His thoughts and feelings would have to wait for now, he had more important things to focus on.

./././

**I hope you enjoyed this update! I enjoy writing Nick as a side character for Luke's adventures. He's fun to write and I like making him kinda goofy. Let me know your thoughts and Happy New Year, everyone!**


	4. November (Part 2)

**I sincerely apologize for yet another delay on this story. I really wanted to stick to the Sunday schedule I'd originally set, but I realize that may not be feasible with everything going on in my personal and professional life right now. A lot of great things are in the works, but I find myself drained by the time the weekends roll around. I'm definitely going to try and be stricter with myself when it comes to completing this story - I want to see it finished soon!**

**One good thing that has come from this process is that I've gotten through writing a scene that happens later on this story that I was dreading. It's not extremely bad, but it definitely changes the tone of the story and while I always planned to include it, I struggled to actually write it. I've finally done so in a way that I think is fair and stops me from continuing to hold off on it. When that scene eventually comes up, I'll explain why I felt the way I did about it.**

**Until then, enjoy!**

* * *

The next day was surprisingly gloomy as a thick fog enveloped the campus before sunrise. Luke would have loved to sleep in and study, but he had to get ready to meet with Clementine. He'd spent a week reviewing the material in order to prepare for their meeting, he wasn't about to cancel when he'd worked so hard. Exams were coming faster than he would have liked and he wanted to complete the rest of his assignments sooner than later in order to maximize his study time.

Squeezing into a forest green hoodie and some black skinny jeans, he put his notes and textbooks in a book bag and left his room. He barely had time to make breakfast before throwing on his heavy winter jacket and heading out to their rendezvous point at the student centre.

Clementine was already waiting outside when he got there. She was wearing a red and black checkered coat with ripped jeans and crimson coloured high top boots. Her trademark baseball cap sat underneath cat eared headphones (which Luke couldn't help but find adorable) and her hair was pulled back into a small bun at the nape of her neck. She was staring at her phone screen intently and only looked up when Luke called her name.

"Oh, hello Luke," she said as he approached. Luke gave her a bright smile and bounced in step.

"Ready to work?" he teased.

Clementine scoffed. "As ready as I'll ever be." Luke chuckled and looked up at the student centre behind her.

"Did you want to study here? I know we said we'd go to one of the libraries but I'm sure this would suit our needs just fine."

"It would have, if it wasn't _packed_," Clementine said with a shrug. Luke grimaced.

"Figures," he replied, "it's close to exam season, after all."

"Yeah, someone told me it would be like this," Clementine admitted.

"Hopefully, one of the libraries will have a quiet spot we can use," Luke replied.

Clementine crossed her arms over her chest, making her jacket puff up a bit. "That's if the one that's open isn't packed."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? There are two major ones on campus. They're on opposite ends, so I thought we could check both in case one was busy."

"I know, but they sent us an email this morning saying a pipe burst in the North library," she explained. "They have to close it for the weekend in order to try and fix it."

Luke groaned and shook his head. "Oh, for the love of…"

"We can still see if the South library has space," Clementine offered as she started to walk away from the centre.

"Yeah, let's do that," Luke replied, taking a deep breath as they fell into step with one another. Turning to look at her as they walked, Luke couldn't help but smile at the determined look on his project partner's face.

"I keep forgetting it's your first year, how are you finding it so far?" he asked.

"It's been okay so far, no serious complaints yet."

"That's good. This isn't a bad school but first year is no joke. You seem to be holding up pretty well."

"Thanks, I'm trying," Clementine said, showing a rare smile as she spoke. "There's definitely a learning curve, but my professors are nice and I always have Colette."

"Oh, right, I remember her. That's the friend of yours who has the same tutorial as us."

"Yup, that's the one. She thinks you're really cool, by the way. She keeps asking me to invite you out to lunch with us one of these days."

Luke let out a hearty laugh.

"She's pretty driven, huh? I wouldn't mind doing lunch, though. You have my number now, just text me when you want to go."

"Sure, I'll do that. She'll be ecstatic."

They walked in silence as they headed down a pathway that lead to the South library. Even in the heavy fog, Luke could make out the outline of the building, and he pointed it out to Clementine as they approached it.

"It looks different from the picture they showed us during orientation," she noted, raising a finger to her chin as they walked up the library's steps.

"That picture is probably outdated," Luke explained, holding the library door open for her. "They renovate a little every year, or so I've heard."

Clementine thanked him as she walked in, but she froze as soon as she entered the library. Luke, noticing she'd stopped walking, looked past her to see what had made her halt.

He immediately saw why and groaned out loud.

The South Library was jam packed with students and faculty members. It was so bad that most students had resigned themselves to studying (or sleeping) on the carpeted floor. Luke winced and shook his head.

"Well, this isn't good."

"No, it's not," Clementine replied, sounding defeated.

"It makes sense though, what with the North Library being closed and all."

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be able to concentrate here."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Me neither, and we have a lot to go over too. We'll need space and…" he trailed off, grimacing as he watched a student nuzzle their face into the carpet they were sleeping on.

"…those floors aren't even _clean_."

Disgusted wasn't even the word, mortified might have been more suitable given the situation. Clementine replied with a snort as she followed his gaze.

"Where do you think we should go?" she asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Outside of my dorm, which is just as much a mess as this place, I'm not sure. Most of the classrooms are closed on the weekends," Luke explained, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

Clementine shook her head. "My dorm's not much better, honestly," she admitted. Luke sighed.

"I guess we'll have to resch-."

"Wait!" Clementine interjected, snapping her fingers together.

"W-what?" Luke asked, her outburst catching him by surprise.

"I know a place we can study at, Colette took me there once," the first year explained. "It's a little ways off campus, but they have good food and a study space that will most likely be empty."

Luke's widened.

"That sounds like our best bet," he replied, "if you want to go there, I'm fine with that."

Clementine smiled and turned to head out of the South library, holding the door for Luke as she did. Luke thanked her as he followed behind her, breathing in the cold and foggy air as he did. While he was grateful for his partner's quick thinking, he couldn't help but feel like he'd heard of such a place before. Brushing off the thought, he pulled his jacket's hood over his head and headed after his project partner.

./././

"So this is the place, huh?" Luke asked.

They were standing in front of a small shop on the outskirts of Capricorn. Luke couldn't remember being the last time he'd been so far from campus since he'd arrived on the shuttle bus back in September. Yellow, metal letters nailed to the store's front spelled "Garcia Goods" complimented the alabaster bricks that lined the store front. The front door, a large wooden slab equipped with a small window, had been painted yellow and Luke briefly wondered if the colour scheme continued on the inside of the shop as well.

"Yup," Clementine replied, "it's a bit of a trek from campus, but their pastries are really good. Plus, I _know_ they'll have a space for us to study in."

"I feel like I've heard of this place before," Luke mused, scratching the scruff on his chin.

Clementine shrugged. "You might have, Colette says they're a relatively new business, though."

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now," Luke replied, shaking his head.

"C'mon," Clementine urged, opening the front door and gesturing for Luke to go first.

He stepped into the shop, taking in the warm air and the smell of freshly baked bread that made his mouth water.

The inside of the shop was a lot bigger than Luke had expected. It was long and narrow, with tables and chairs lining the left side of the shop and a display case with baked goods on the right. Behind the display case sat the cash register and various racks with empty trays on top of them. There was also a swinging door to what looked to be the kitchen. Towards the back was a door to a washroom and what Luke assumed was the study room Clementine had mentioned. Although Luke was disappointed to see the yellow and white colour scheme did not continue inside the shop, he appreciated the warm browns, reds, and teal coloured accents that littered the décor. It gave the place a warm and homey vibe, and he hadn't been expecting something like that.

"This…is really nice," Luke admitted.

"Isn't it?" Clementine replied as she walked past him to look at the display case. Kneeling in front of the glass cover, she started pointing at the different pastries and pies.

"Are you going to get something?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the pastries in front of her.

He didn't have a chance to reply as a young man walked through the swinging door behind the cash register before he could.

He was around the same height as Clementine and looked to be her age as well. His hair was brown, short, spiky, and mostly covered by a bright orange beanie cap that sat lopsided on his head. He was wearing a black apron that had protected _most_ of his white t-shirt from being coated with flour and spices, though he didn't seem to mind the places where it hadn't. Luke could make out the black skinny jeans he was wearing beneath the apron as well. He wondered briefly if this young man was a student too, though he was pretty sure he'd never seen him before.

But the young man turned to him before his thoughts could progress any further. He raised a bushy eyebrow in Luke's direction before he saw Clementine stand up from in front of the pastry display.

"C-Clementine?" the young man stammered, almost taking a step back. Luke raised an eyebrow of his own, unsure as to why her appearance would elicit such a reaction.

"Hey, Gabe," Clementine said calmly, as if she hadn't noticed his outburst.

"It's uh, nice to see you," Gabe replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Nice to see you too," she replied nonchalantly, though Luke could see her cheeks were starting to get red.

"T-this is Luke," she continued, gesturing towards him abruptly. Luke sent Gabe a wave that was not returned.

"Okay," Gabe replied, frowning while giving Luke a once over.

Luke, realizing what was going on at this point, smiled and stepped towards the display counter.

"Nice to meet you, Gabe. I'm Clementine's partner for a class project," he explained, hoping to indirectly reassure Gabe. "She said you have a great study space here and we could really use one."

The young man blinked a couple of times before nodding.

"O-oh, yeah. We do," he replied as if surprised by Luke's response.

"Everywhere else is packed like sardines, so I thought I'd bring Luke here. He didn't know about this place like Colette did," Clementine chimed in.

"Thanks," Gabe replied with a sheepish smile. Clementine smiled at that before returning her attention to the pastries in the display case.

"Now, what should I get…?" she mused aloud. Luke looked down at the display case and felt his stomach rumble.

"It all looks so good," he admitted.

"Right?" Clementine replied, nodding in his direction as she continued to stare.

"C-c'mon, guys," Gabe said with a smile, his face redder than Clementine's had been.

"It's true, Gabe," Clementine said with a smile. "I'll take a slice of apple strudel and a butter tart."

Gabe nodded and began to pull out the selected items.

"How about you, uh Luke?" the young man tried as he began to slice a large slab of apple strudel.

Luke eyes widened in surprise when Gabe addressed him, but he quickly recovered and stepped up to the display case to get a better look.

"I'll have a slice of strudel too and…is that carrot cake?"

Gabe turned to where Luke was looking and nodded. "Yup. I just made it, actually," he said.

"Can I have a slice of that too, then?" Luke asked with a wide smile. Clementine snorted.

"You look like you're in love," she said with a smirk.

"It's carrot cake, how could you _not_ be in love?" Luke retorted.

That got a laugh out of both Clementine and Gabe, with Luke joining in shortly after.

"If you guys came to study, I can bring your food over in a few minutes. It's a slow day," Gabe explained once he stopped laughing.

"You don't have to do that," Clementine replied. Gabe gestured towards the study room.

"Go ahead, seriously," he said, staring down at the pastries he'd pulled for them. Luke smiled in understanding and walked past Clementine.

"C'mon, Clem," he started, "we have lots to go over today."

"Fine," Clementine groaned, following after him.

"I'll see you guys in a bit," Gabe said as they walked away from the counter.

"Sure," Luke said over his shoulder as he opened the door to the study room.

The room was styled similarly to the rest of the bakery when it came to colour accents and furniture. It wasn't huge by any means, but it was big enough to fit a couple of circle-top tables and six or so plastic, red chairs. Luke was surprised, however, to see a large easel in the corner of the room holding up poster paper. There were even markers left on a ridge on the easel, just below the paper. He couldn't help but think of how useful that would be for meetings or brainstorming sessions. It was a nice touch that he hadn't expected.

"Wow, this'll work perfectly," Luke said he pulled off his backpack and placed it on a chair at one of the tables.

"It's a great spot," Clementine agreed, "I wish I came here more often." Luke nodded in agreement as he pulled out his school supplies.

They'd only just started going over their notes when the study room door swung open. Luke turned, expecting to see Gabe, and instead stared up at a man he'd met before.

"Javier?" He said in surprise, dropping the pencil he'd been holding (and chewing on).

"_Princess_?" Javier replied, holding the pastries they'd ordered on a tray in his right hand. He was wearing a flour-covered apron and if Luke hadn't been deadpanning over his nickname, he would have probably been blushing over how cute and endearing he still found that to be.

"Princess?" Clementine echoed, sounding more amused than surprised.

"Princess?!" Gabe asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"Okay, can you guys stop?" Luke groaned, recovering from his stupor.

Javier ignored him and turned to Gabe with an incredulous expression on his face.

"I thought you said Clementine came with a friend?"

"I-I did! It just isn't Colette this time!" Gabe stammered indignantly, his face turning a bright red. Whether his embarrassment stemmed from being put on the spot or from hearing Clementine's name, Luke was unsure.

"Luke's my partner for a class project," Clementine interjected. "We couldn't find a place to study on campus so I recommended we come here."

"O-oh," Javier replied, turning back to Luke. "Well, welcome! I'm glad you could finally stop by."

"I might have come sooner if I'd _known_ where your bakery was," Luke replied, trying to play off the awkwardness with a nonchalant shrug.

"I guess I thought you wouldn't come," Javier said, using his free hand to rub the back of his neck. Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, I…" Javier started.

"Uh, Javi?" Gabe interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, buddy?" Javier asked, turning back to the young man.

"They came to work on their project, a-and Clementine really cares about her grades so maybe we should give them some time alone," he explained nervously, looking back and forth between Javier and Clementine.

There was silence for a few (tense) seconds before Javier cleared his throat and nodded.

"R-right, sorry about that," Javier replied, placing the tray on the table Clementine and Luke were occupying.

"I'll catch you guys later," Javier said with a strained smile as he walked out, pulling Gabe with him. The two students watched as the young man gave them a victorious smile as he left.

As the door shut, Luke couldn't help but take a deep breath. That had been both unexpected and awkward. He hadn't seen Javier in what, a month? It sucked that school made it so difficult for the two of them to interact more but it wasn't like the man had given him his number or anything. He hadn't even known where Javier's bakery was until Clementine had shown him.

Still, he couldn't help but blush as he thought about their past encounters. He didn't want to believe there was anything there, but the feelings bubbling up inside of him were getting harder to ignore.

He looked up to see Clementine smiling at him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Luke eyes widened before he shook his head.

"Not really," he said sheepishly. Clementine nodded and turned back to her notes.

"Let's get back to it, then," she urged, pushing his plate of desserts towards him.

He silently thanked her for the out and began to eat as she explained her points.

./././

A couple hours later and both Luke and Clementine felt deserving of a break.

Standing up to stretch, Luke yawned and shook his head.

"I think we made some good progress," he said, looking down at Clementine who was tapping her pencil against the table.

"I think so too," she agreed, "I feel a lot better about this assignment now that we've worked out some of our main points."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Me too, we might be able to finish this sooner than I thought."

"I hope so," Clementine replied, resting her chin on one of her fists, "I have exams to study for."

"Me too," Luke groaned.

"I'm going to use the bathroom before we continue," he added. Clementine pointed to the door behind him.

"It's just outside of the door we came in," she said.

"Thanks," Luke replied, "I'll be right back."

As he re-entered the front of the bakery, he saw Gabe and Javier speaking behind the counter. Both seemed surprised to see him but he smiled and sent them a wave.

"Are you guys done?" Gabe asked. Luke shook his head.

"No," he replied, "we're just taking a break."

When neither baker responded, his eyes widened and he waved his hands in front of him.

"T-that's unless we have to leave! I don't know if you guys have limits on how long students can stay…"

That seemed to shake Javier and Gabe out of whatever trance they'd been in as they quickly responded in turn.

"N-no, not at all," Javier replied hastily. "Please, take as much time as you need. We're happy to have you."

"Yeah, like I said, it's a slow day," Gabe added. He turned back to Javier and Luke was surprised to see a pout cross the young man's face.

Javier rolled his eyes before nodding at Gabe, who in turn took off past the both of them before entering the study room.

"H-hiya, Clementine. I heard you were on break…" Luke heard before the door closed behind him.

"He's in deep, huh?" the second year asked as he walked towards the display counter Javier was standing behind. The baker chuckled in response.

"He's had a mondo crush on her since she stopped by a week or so ago. He can't stop talking about her."

"Hey, the feeling might be mutual," Luke replied, leaning on the case as he spoke.

"You think so? Oh boy," Javier said. Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Well…" Javier mused, as if he was trying to think of the right way to articulate what he was thinking.

"Gabe is a good kid, but he's not without his shortcomings and insecurities," he explained. "I get a similar feeling from Clementine, and she's guarded for some reason. They might be better off as friends."

Luke looked back at the door he'd just stepped through and couldn't help but smile as he heard the murmurs of conversation between Gabe and Clementine coming from the study room. He turned back to Javier with this same grin.

"Well, maybe their struggles can help them relate to one another. They could anchor each other when they're in their own storms. Who knows, they might make a better team than you think," he tried. Javier raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"That's poetic," he replied earnestly. Luke snorted.

"Well, it's better than _princess_."

"Oh please, you love that."

"I resent it, actually."

"Funny, because you haven't asked me to stop saying it yet," Javier retorted, giving Luke a half lidded smirk. Luke tried to ignore how fast it made his heart beat.

"I-I…well…" Luke stammered, caught between the seductive smirk and the implication that he enjoyed his new nickname.

"I-I didn't think you would have stopped if I did," he finally replied, feeling that was the best excuse he could come up with at the moment.

"Oh, really?" Javier asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I probably wouldn't have but you could have given it a shot."

"Maybe I didn't want to," Luke replied without thinking.

"Then you _do_ like it?" Javier asked, his smile now resembling that of the Cheshire cat.

"N-no, that's not what I…" Luke groaned, trailing off before he could dig himself any deeper.

"I'm just kidding, Luke. You know I like to see you flustered," Javier said with a chuckle.

"Really? I had no idea," Luke replied sarcastically. That got another laugh out of Javier and Luke couldn't help but join in. Feelings were annoying like that.

"How long have you had this place? It's pretty sweet," Luke asked, changing the subject. Javier's smirk was replaced with an easy smile that seemed to hide something Luke couldn't put his finger on.

"Thanks! A couple of years now," the baker explained. Luke nodded and looked around.

"This place is still relatively new then, huh?"

"So to speak," Javier replied, "I purchased it from the previous owner and made some design changes. It was originally a sub shop with the study room just being a break room for the employees. I knew I wanted a small team here, so that seemed a bit excessive. Plus, when I found out how close the school was, I thought it would be a great place for students if they needed a break from campus."

"You've got a lot done in two years," Luke admitted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I appreciate you saying that," Javier said with a chuckle that made Luke's heart swell, "we still have a long way to go though."

"Still, I think it's pretty impressive. Not everyone can flip a business and have really good food to boot," Luke said, giving Javier a bright smile. The baker returned the smile before raising an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to get me back for flustering you?" he asked coyly. Luke's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head.

"W-what? Of course not. That's not my style," he replied in surprise. Javier hummed.

"I guess I'll have to get to know you better to find out what your 'style' is," he said, giving Luke a once over.

"I g-guess you will," Luke gulped, looking away as he felt the baker's eyes on him.

"Say, Luke," Javier continued, causing Luke to look up again, "maybe one of these days, you and I could-"

Before he could finish, Clementine and Gabe emerged from the study room. Gabe was carrying the plates they'd had eaten off of and he headed through the door that Luke believed lead to the kitchen.

"Are you ready to get back to it or…?" Clementine asked slowly, looking back and forth between Javier and Luke.

"Uh, yeah!" Luke replied, inwardly groaning when his voice came out a pitch higher than usual. Clementine nodded and returned to the study room, leaving him alone with Javier again.

"It was nice catching up with you," Luke said over his shoulder as he sped walked towards the study room.

"Yeah, really nice," he heard Javier respond, though his tone didn't sound as happy as it usually did.

Brushing it off as over-thinking on his part, he re-entered the study room and took a seat across from Clementine.

"I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" Clementine asked, wincing slightly as Luke looked up to her.

"No, not at all," Luke said faster than he would have liked. "Besides, we need to get this done."

Clementine didn't seem completely convinced but she let it go and got back to writing her part of the paper.

Luke held back a sigh as he followed suit. It was hard to gauge what was going on between himself and Javier. Their interactions always seemed to consist of near misses and innuendos he didn't want to put too much faith in. Adding school stress to the mix almost made him want to write off whatever it was as friendly flirting. He realized that would be harder to do, since he was starting to want a little more than that.

Regardless of how he currently felt, he knew his project needed to take priority. Clementine was counting on him, and as hard as it was to focus (especially knowing Javier was in the next room) he had to try.

He channelled his frustrations into the arguments he needed for their paper and found himself typing harder than usual as the words came to him.

At least his feelings were good for something.

./././

An hour later, the two students decided to call it a day. They'd made good progress and would only have to meet up once more before the due date to make sure everything was completed.

Luke stood up and stretched as Clementine began to put her school supplies away.

"That went well, thanks for bringing me here," he said with a smile.

"No problem, I'm glad we were able to," Clementine replied.

The door behind them swung open to reveal Gabe holding two small, white bags in his hands.

"Are you guys heading out now?" he asked with a sad smile on his face. Luke nodded in response.

"Yeah, but I'm definitely coming back. Those desserts were to die for," he replied.

Gabe's face lit up at that and he moved forward to hand each of them a bag. Luke accepted his and peeked inside to see a small white box that smelled like carrot cake.

"I-I packed some extras for you guys to take home. They're on the house," Gabe explained, his face turning a bright red as he spoke.

"Wow, thanks Gabe!" Luke replied, grateful that the young man had given him a chance after their awkward introduction.

"That's very sweet of you. Thank you, Gabe," Clementine echoed, smiling as she put the bag in her backpack.

"Y-you're welcome!" Gabe squeaked, speed walking out of the room before anyone could respond.

As the door closed behind him, Luke turned and shot Clementine a knowing smile. She would have seen it had she not been pretending to ignore him.

They headed out through the same door Gabe had to see that the shop was no longer empty. Though not extremely busy, there were at least ten customers scattered around the seating areas.

Javier was cashing someone out as they walked through and Luke had to steady himself before looking up to smile at him.

"Thanks for stopping by, you two," the baker said as he gave the customer their order. "Don't be strangers now!"

"I'll definitely be back for that carrot cake," Luke replied.

"And not for me? You wound me, Luke," Javier teased, pretending to pout.

"Y-you too!" Luke stammered. Clementine laughed.

"Javi…" she warned, shaking her head.

"I'm just kidding," Javier said with a wink. Luke rolled his eyes, hoping the blush he was sure he was sporting would fade away quickly.

"He's the worst," Luke said, turning to Clementine as he recovered.

"Oh, for sure," she concurred.

"H-hey, c'mon now!" Javier retorted, causing both the students to laugh aloud.

They waved to him as they left, stepping out of the shop and back into the small town that enveloped it. It was a chilly afternoon, and Luke could see his breath form in front of his face as he spoke to Clementine. Even though the two engaged in small talk as they walked, Luke couldn't help but think of his conversations with the handsome baker again. Clementine seemed to notice how distracted he was and allowed their conversation to fall into a comfortable silence as they trekked back to campus.


End file.
